The nexus between Xenophobia, Apartheid and the new Crony Capitalist * The violence and looting that has, and is, still happening in Soweto, and arises from time to time in other townships, is disturbing and raises a number of questions that demand analysis and answers. Xenophobic violence is indeed a shame and a danger signal that indicates the underlying tensions that run through society and communities. The idea of mob violence whether physical or mentally indicate a deep malaise that is in need of address. The lack of opportunity combined with the structural inequalities and the township ghettos is a toxic mix that can ignite and lead to violence with just a little spark. one is temped to look at this in isolation but is it? We as a nation , as Africans are now compelled to begin to look at the underlying causes that make one set of Africans see another as foreign. and a threat. One has to point to the past but at the dame time one has to look carefully at the present. When creating the ghettos we call townships the past regime never built them to accommodate business opportunity nor were they built within normal social frameworks they were built solely to house cheap labour; the houses were crammed together, the roads bad, no lighting , no social spaces and with the result that like all overcrowded ghettos from Brazil through to Soweto crime and violence becomes rife. Children see, hear, experience and inculcate things that no normal child should see or experience with the end result we have children that are inured to violence and anti-social behaviour and that takes the form of rape, violence, murder and xenophobia. Critics would claim that these are not the remnants or legacies of the past and one could agree with them to some extent but on the other hand they criticize from comfortable homes in safe social environments in Sandton or Westgate. Why does this kind of behaviour especilly xenophobia never occurs in Westgate for example only the poorer badly designed areas? This incident should not be seen in isolation but part of a broader challenge/problem facing society and the victims of apartheid in particular. Having said that one then faces the prospect of looking for solutions: if the economy is not addressed or the design of townships not addressed and changed then we as a whole will not solve the problem. In 1994 we had the golden opportunity to change the system in its entirety and look for a new beginning that would radically transform the country and its people instead we make a very destructive mistake of trading real change for empty and petty political power with the result the Apartheid system stayed in place and this with all its negative ramifications and all that happened was the slaves git a vote on the slave farm and a few elitists sahred power with the slavemaster but the real causes were not addressed substantively; the economy is still not in the hands of the people, the ghettos are still being built, spaces re still overcrowded and anti social and there are no opportunities for growth. With this being the case how exactly will things change one has to ask? We cannot just continue on this trajectory and hope, without newer more radical ideas and means of transformation, to change the situation or the mindset. Our politicians should just stop for a minute and put down that glass of expensive champagne that they are drinking for, and on our behalf, and start building the nation. We just cannot afford to continue on this trajectory. As long as the crony Capitalism and the looting continues and scant attention paid to reconstruction in a meaningful manner then this is the legacy we leave for those who follow and this will be the price that will be exacted from us as those living in this present..people need to rise and hold the politicians to account; we need to change the trajectory of Crony Capitalism, create opportunities for the people and stop the looting of the treasury and move to building better societies where there is a redistribution of wealth and a negation of poverty not the continued trajectory where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer; if we do not stop this soon the poor will have no one left to eat but the rich and our beautiful country will be engulfed in flames and burnt to ashes.. rassool jibraeel snyman The Poetic Assassin ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- spotnews.co.za/index.php/news/241-looting-in-soweto-forced-foreigners-to-pack-and-go
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 09:31:56 +0000
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